What Year Is It?
by SRHtheHedgehog
Summary: Hikari goes into an eerie forest with her two friends, but then a strange pokemon attacks! Hikari is now stuck in the future! Will she ever get back to her own time? What does the strange new pokemon have to do with all this? Ikarishipping
1. Chapter 1

This is slightly AU-ish I suppose…I tried to keep it so that it only did things that were possible through the Pokemon realm xD

It's kind of a silly idea, so don't kill me! shot

Anyways, so here you go.

Disclaimer: I no own teh Pokeymanzes.

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"YES! I can't believe how easy that was!!" yelled Satoshi as they left the gym with his new badge. It shone in his fingers, reflecting the sunlight above, although, if you would have asked Satoshi, he would probably claim it was as valuable as the sun itself.

"That's great! I'm really happy for you, Satoshi," said Takeshi warmly.

"Yeah, but would you please stop bragging about it? You've been going on like that for the past five minutes now," giggled Hikari.

"I'm sorry guys; I'm just so excited!"

"_We know_," they chorused.

Yup. Just another normal day in the life of Satoshi-tachi. Get to a town; win a badge; maybe shop for that new Poketch application.

But, little did they suspect what was to come…

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"Alright guys, you ready to get going?"

"Yup, sounds good!"

Satoshi-tachi made their way through the city, trudging on to new adventures. They soon reached the edge of town, near the Illustrious Forest1. It had almost an eerie aura to it; when you went near it you could feel a chill run down your spine and a sense of fear would shake your bones. Satoshi, being the bold one that he is, plodded right on toward the forest without worry.

"Ah, Satoshi?" said Hikari cautiously.

"Hm? What is it, Hikari?" he said, a peculiar look residing on his face.

"Well…I don't know why, but I just don't think it's such a good idea to go in there…" she said nervously.

"Yeah, Satoshi, I feel the same way. I don't like the feeling that this forest is giving off," Takeshi worried.

"Aw, come on guys! We have to get through the forest in order to get to Topaz City2!"

"But…well…I…I suppose you're right…" Hikari frowned.

"Alright! Then let's go!" he shouted.

Hikari hesitated and hung back as the other two marched on. Takeshi noticed the missing member of their party, and turned back to make sure all was well.

"Well, come on, Hikari," Takeshi said, holding out his hand.

Hikari came, cautiously, but she came nonetheless. She walked slowly into the forest, dreading whatever it was that would make her feel so frightened.

They had only been in the forest for a few minutes when they heard a strange noise in the distance.

"H-hey, g-g-guys…what…w-what was that…?" Hikari trembled.

"Hey, I bet it's a really strong pokemon!" Ah, Satoshi, you and your simple-minded ways.

"I don't know, it sure didn't sound like any pokemon that I've ever heard of," said the breeder warily.

"Hey, that means that it must be a really rare one! Come on, guys!" Satoshi ran off, leaving the other two in the dust.

Takeshi, seeing that there wasn't any use in trying to reason with Satoshi once his mind was made up, ran ahead as well, leaving Hikari to decide. Which is it, stay here where there could be hungry monsters hiding in the trees? Or go on ahead to a potentially dangerous situation with those that you see as protective older brothers?

Naturally, Hikari decided it was best not to get lost. She ran on ahead as well.

"Hey, wait up you guys!"

She sprinted on, already fairly far behind the other two. She could still see Takeshi's light blue backpack amidst all the dark, and she followed the bobbing blue beacon to where she might be even a little safer than getting lost in a dark forest by herself.

Suddenly, her leader stopped, giving her time to catch up. As she got closer, she could hear the strange noise again, but this time louder, and more distinct.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAW!"

Hikari felt a shiver run through her entire body at the sound, but ran as fast as her legs could carry her, hand on Piplup's Pokeball, just in case.

When she finally caught up, she was so exhausted that she fell on the ground to take a breather. She looked up and saw the wiser of her two traveling companions, and decided it was best to see what the situation was.

"T-Takeshi…pant…what's…pant going on? pant pant"

Takeshi gave no answer, for he was enthralled at the sight before him. Hikari looked to where he was staring, hoping to see what he was so fascinated with.

She looked over and found a sight more beautiful than anything she had ever seen in her life. There was what looked like a large bird standing on the ground a few feet away. It had no particular color; it had a rainbow tint that was changing constantly. It was perked up, glorious wings spread wide to try to frighten its challenger. Too bad it didn't know that Satoshi didn't even know the meaning of fear when it came to new pokemon.

"Hey, I challenge you to a battle!"

Rather than comply, the strange bird flapped its wings furiously, kicking up a large dust storm. Before Hikari knew what was happening, the bird had flown toward her, eyes glowing red. The world slowly started to become fuzzy. She could see Takeshi and Satoshi fading away before her eyes. She screamed for help, but they didn't hear or see her, for no sound came out of her mouth. Hikari's body collapsed and her two companions rushed over to her.

Hikari found herself flying through a dark tunnel. She was frightened and wanted to go back to her friends, but the force of whatever was driving her through…wherever she was…was too great. Suddenly, everything went black.

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Hikari slowly opened her eyes. She stared up at a ceiling. She sat up and looked around. She was lying in a queen size bed, and there were many homey things lying around the small bedroom she was in. There was a laundry basket sitting on the floor on the opposite side of the room full of clean laundry, folded and ready to be put away. There was a small bathroom attached to the room, but Hikari couldn't see many details from where she was in the bed.

_Wh…where am I? _she wondered. _What happened to the forest? And that strange bird pokemon…?_

Hikari came to the assumption that they had been staying with someone in town and had had a nightmare. With a sigh of relief, she got up from the bed. _Wait…these aren't my pajamas…_ she thought as she looked down at the clothing she was wearing. _Well, maybe I borrowed some from whoever lives here._

She trudged over to the door and left the room, going to find at least SOMEONE that she knew. She walked into what appeared to be the kitchen. She saw someone standing by the stove, cooking breakfast. She walked over to thank them, assuming it was the person who had allowed her to stay there. She tapped him on the shoulder in order to grab his attention.

He grunted as a reply and continued what he was doing. Hikari, out of politeness, sat at the table and waited. After a few minutes, the man turned around and Hikari got a good look at his face.

_Wh…what the?! That looks like…Shinji! But…he's not that old… Maybe his father? Could it be that we stayed with his family or something? Eyaaaaa…I must have really hit my head…_

"What is it?" he asked grumpily. "You know I've got to work at the gym today and I don't have time to do anything for you right now."

_Gym? Shinji's father is a gym leader?_ "Um, I'm sorry, I didn't know," she said

He swiftly turned around and rapidly walked towards her. He leaned down and looked deep into her eyes furiously.

"E…EH? Wh-what are you doing?" she asked nervously.

"I'm trying to figure out what the heck is wrong with you!" he snapped. He put his hand under her chin and examined her other features. "I've been telling you that I have to work this Saturday for the past week." _Week?!_

"Hn…you don't _seem_ sick," he muttered. "Maybe you've wised up and fallen for another man." He laughed sarcastically. Hikari's face became more puzzled than it was before, but for fear of irking anything else from him, she had kept her mouth shut. However, he was a clever man and could see her expression. He slammed his hands down on the table, making everything upon it tremble.

"What the heck is WRONG with you? Hello, it's me! You know, your husband? That idiot guy you married? Shinji? Ringing any bells?"

_SHINJI?! My…my HUSBAND?!_

Hikari jumped up from the table and sprinted back down the hall, trying to find some trace of what she once knew. _This…this has to be…I have to be still dreaming! No way I would ever marry him! Or anyone for that matter, I'm only ten!_

She reached the bedroom and ran into the bath adjacent to it. She spotted what she was hunting for: the mirror.

She looked into it only to find another woman staring back at her. A woman in her early or mid twenties, with midnight blue hair that reached down just below her shoulders, which led down to a fully developed chest; not that of a ten-year-old.

"This…this can't be happening!" she whispered. _I…I know! Maybe that pokemon hypnotized me! That would explain the eyes glowing red…yeah! It must have been a psychic pokemon, and I'm lying on the ground in the forest, sleeping next to Takeshi and Satoshi._

Shinji followed Hikari close behind and reached the bathroom to find her staring into the mirror, tears in her eyes. For some reason, once she saw Shinji, she knew that this was real.

And at that moment, Hikari lost consciousness.

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The stuff with #'s next to them are things I made up. They're not real 8D


	2. Chapter 2

This is slightly AU-ish I suppose…I tried to keep it so that it only did things that were possible through the Pokemon realm x

Light peeked through Hikari's eyelids, causing Hikari to realize she had gained observational skills once again. After her head had stopped spinning, she opened her eyes to see Shinji staring down at her, usual scowl in place. She lifted her hand up to her forehead to find that he had placed a cold towel upon it. She looked around a bit and sat up to find that he had carried her to the bed as well, and he was now sitting on the edge of it, apparently waiting for her to regain touch with the outside world.

"What happened?" she said suddenly.

"You fainted. I think that you should stay in bed for right now. I'll go get the thermometer." He stood up and disappeared through the door of the adjoining master bath. Hikari lied back down on the pillow behind her, trying to calm down and sort everything out.

_Okay Hikari…it must be something that the pokemon did. Maybe…maybe it sent me here, to this time,_ she thought. _That…that's the only explanation._

Shinji loomed back over her and jammed the thermometer into her mouth. She properly placed it under her tongue and waited. And waited. And…waited some more.

Eventually, the thermometer was ready, and Shinji plucked it out of her mouth.

"Hm…your temperature seems fine," he said, emotionless. He placed his head on her cheek, much to Hikari's discomfort. "…And you don't feel warm. But, nonetheless, I think that you should _stay in bed_."

Hikari nodded, not wanting to say something that would give her away. She couldn't imagine what he would do if he found out that she wasn't the one he married. Literally.

Shinji left the small room and plodded down the hallway, taking another look back, almost as if he wanted to be certain that she wasn't going to run away or come after him with a knife.

She heard some rustling and a door open, then a quick shout. "I'll see you when I get back, Hikari. Bye." The door shut, leaving Hikari in the house alone.

As soon as she was sure that he was gone, she sat up and held her head in her hands.

"That…that pokemon…it didn't just send me to the future, or to another home," she moaned. "It…it sent me to _my_ future…in the home that _I'll_ have someday. What am I going to do?"

Hikari stood up and walked down the hallway, back to the kitchen, and sat at the small, low table that she had that very morning, no more than ten minutes ago.

"I can't tell Shinji about this, that's certain. I'm positive that he would find some way to blame me for it, or even worse," she shuddered, "he might do something on _purpose_. Just to mess with me." She shook these disturbing thoughts out of her head, not wanting to think about how perverse her husband might be someday.

After thinking about what would be best, Hikari decided that she should familiarize herself with her new surroundings and try as best as she could to act like the adult Hikari would.

She looked around the kitchen to start off with. Most people would consider it to be no more than a kitchenette; it was just a corner with cabinets hugging each wall until the imaginary borders that defined the living and dining rooms. There was a small dividing wall to aid in this confusion, but did not reach all the way to the ceiling, so even that wasn't worth calling part of the "room." The dining table was low to the ground, with cushions to sit upon placed around it. There was an electric blanket placed beneath the table; it must have been winter time. The countertops of the "kitchen" lined up in much the same fashion that the cabinets were. Behind the sink and rest of the countertops, there was a tile backsplash, still brand new. The floor tile bled out from the corner until the carpet from the rest of the house claimed its boundaries.

Hikari examined the rest of the house in much the same way; looking for details that may be significant, such as where things were, where they might go (which, in most homes, are two completely different things), where the rooms were located, etc., until she was satisfied with the information that she had gathered. All in all, it was a small, cute little home that Hikari was quite satisfied for living in.

She went back to the kitchen, famished from her little "adventure," and feeling deserving from her progress in her "research." She managed to prepare a sandwich and glass of milk without disrupting the sanctity of the home, and sat down at the table to eat it.

"Maybe…this won't be _so_ bad," Hikari said cheerfully. "But then…how will I get home? To my own time? And…what happened to my other, future self?"

"Hikari! HIKARI!" Satoshi shouted, shaking Hikari violently. The strange pokemon had already left and Hikari was still unconscious.

"Satoshi! I don't think that this is getting us anywhere!" Takeshi yelled, trying to get him to calm down. He was almost ready to slap him when suddenly Hikari's eyes flew open.

"Hey, what's going on here?" she said sleepily. She sat up and looked around. All she saw was trees. And trees. And more trees. They happened to be in a small clearing in which a few ribbons of sunlight were allowed to cut through the thick darkness. She looked over at Satoshi and Takeshi and they were swept with relief.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're okay!" Satoshi exclaimed. "I was starting to get worried!"

"…Only starting?" Takeshi chuckled.

"Well…I suppose I overreacted. But that weird pokemon thing swooped over and attacked you or something!" he said excitedly, almost like he thought the whole thing like an adventure.

"And you wanted to catch it," Takeshi laughed.

He looked at Hikari. "At least you're all right," he said, relieved.

"Yeah, so let's get going. We don't know if that strange pokemon will come back or not," said Takeshi.

Satoshi helped her up and they started to march onward, deeper into the forest. Hikari stood there for a few more seconds, still absorbing her surroundings, then finally moving forward.

"Why…why am I ten years old again?" she whispered.


	3. Chapter 3

"And why are you out of bed when I told you to stay there?" he demanded.

"I'm sorry…I was just hungry…so I came out to eat something…" she said pitifully. She gave him the biggest, saddest puppy dog eyes that she could muster.

It was near evening and Hikari had gotten out of bed to eat some dinner. Shinji had happened to get home near that time, so obviously he noticed.

"It's fine; I was just kidding," he said, with an almost-smile. _Wow…I never would have guessed that Shinji would get this nice…_

"Now step aside, before you burn something." He shoved her out from in front of the stove and plucked the spoon she had been holding out of her hand.

_Okay…I take it back,_ Hikari scowled to herself. She slumped over to the table and plopped down on her usual cushion.

To tell you the truth, everything was hunky dory until she started thinking about her own time. She remembered Satoshi, Takeshi, her mother, her pokemon…just thinking about her mother realizing that she had disappeared Hikari and sitting on the floor crying made Hikari feel like crying herself.

"Hey, it's almost ready, so get your plate and…" Shinji paused, hearing a soft weeping behind him. He turned around to find Hikari crying quietly into her hands. He turned off the stove and walked over to her. He kneeled down and put his hand on her shoulder, causing her to jerk up. She looked up at him, tears still forming in the corners of her liquid blue eyes.

"Are you gonna be okay? What are you crying about?" he said quietly.

"I…I don't…know," she whispered, then began sobbing even louder than before.

Before Hikari had time to register what was going on, Shinji had pulled her into his arms. At that moment, she didn't care whose arms she was in, she just knew that she needed someone. She grabbed onto his shirt and continued to blubber into his chest, finding comfort that there was someone willing to be there for her, even if it _was_ Shinji.

A few moments later, Hikari started to calm and quiet down and eventually let go of Shinji's shirt. He dropped his arms and brought her face up close to his so that he could look into her eyes.

"There now, feel better?" Hikari nodded. "Good. Now hurry up and eat this before it gets cold and my cooking goes to waste."

…_Still same old Shinji._

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Hikari started out at slowly, only tiny steps at a time. Eventually she started to quicken her pace and ended up sprinting back to the other two. _How could this be happening? I can't be stuck in the past…can I? What the heck is going on here?!_

She caught up with Takeshi first and slowed back down to a walk. He looked at her and noticed that something wasn't right.

"Hikari? Are you okay?" he asked cautiously, fearing that his inquiry was indeed wrong and he would in turn have to face the wrath of Hikari.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I'm…um…just worried that we're going to get lost in the forest, that's all! Are we going to stop and rest soon?" she said quickly.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. You know how Satoshi gets. Hey! Satoshi!"

Satoshi turned around. "What is it?"

"Hikari wants to know if we can stop and rest."

"Awww…I really wanted to get through this forest now…but okay. I'm starving!"

They found a small clearing and set up camp. Takeshi built a fire and began to cook dinner for them while they released their pokemon for some free time.

_What am I going to do? I haven't been apart from Shinji since before we were married…I wonder how long I'll be able to take this,_ she worried. _And…how am I going to get back?_

Satoshi looked at Hikari, seeing the anxious look on her face. He was about to say something came out into the clearing. Satoshi, thinking it was a pokemon, got overexcited and threw a Pokeball at the creature.

"Ow! What the heck is wrong with you?!"

Could it be?

Hikari snapped her head up to find Shinji standing before her, glaring at Satoshi and rubbing his head. _Wow…I forgot how cute he was when he was this young_, she giggled to herself.

Shinji turned his glare over to Hikari. "Something funny?"

Well, of course she giggled. It was all she could do to keep herself from running over and glomping him.

"Ah, no, not really."

"Then why are you laughing? Noisy girl."

Ah, she hadn't heard him say that to her in ages. That was probably because she HATED it. Trying to keep all suspicion at bay, she overreacted, like she would have at age ten, but tried to keep the physical attacks at a minimum, lest she lose control and cause Shinji be scarred for the rest of his life.

Shinji of course was unaffected and left the clearing, irritated at most.

"Erm…guys, I think I'll pack in early tonight," said Hikari, faking a yawn.

"Alright. See you in the morning, then," Takeshi smiled.

Hikari just about flew into her tent. Once safely inside and sure that no one could see her, she flopped down onto her sleeping bag, hormones racing. _Nice job, Hikari. You got your wish; you got to see him. Too bad you almost RAPED him!_

How Hikari wished that she could have a cold shower at that moment. _Uh-oh…Shinji's a huge pervert…he can't be doing any better than I am…I wonder how he is…_


	4. Chapter 4

Hikari tried to sleep, but the sandman didn't seem to be on her side. She closed her eyes and relaxed, trying to tell herself that they would both forget about it in the morning and get on with life. She racked her brain, trying to think of what day it would be here. She remembered seeing the calendar; today was Saturday. Her eyes shot open. Shinji's gym schedule had said that he normally went to the gym on weekdays, and then stayed home on weekends, unless there was a special occasion. He didn't have to work tomorrow. She would be home all alone with this horny man.

Oh. Crap.

She almost leapt out of the bed at that very moment, but her logical side told her to stay put; running away would only make him more suspicious. She tried to get to sleep again, but the horrifying memories of the earlier fiasco kept coming back to haunt her, telling her that she had to do something before it got out of hand.

So she thought…and thought…and thought…until she ended up staying awake for another hour, trying to come up with a plan to escape the fate that awaited her. However, sleep overtook her before she could come up with an idea plausible enough to work.

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Hikari awoke to the pleasant odor of breakfast cooking. She looked beside her to find that Shinji had already departed, explaining the food smell. She slowly sat up and looked upon her bedside table to find that it was 9:00 a.m. She had slept in a lot longer than she had planned. She hopped off the bed and started to dig through her laundry to find something suitable for day wear. She threw on a dark green sweater and white, knee-length skirt, and strolled out into the kitchen. Shinji was at what Hikari had come to find as his regular post; the area in front of the stove.

"Good, you're finally up. I was beginning to think that you were planning on sleeping all day."

Although Hikari would have loved to punch him at that moment, she realized that her future self must have been used to it by then, so she sat down and said nothing. Shinji turned around, wearing a simple white apron, and nudged a ham and cheese omelet onto her plate, then another onto his own. He took off the apron and sat down opposite her, then dug into his plate. Hikari once again found herself in a sweet haven of flavor and aroma as she wolfed down her plate.

"You know," she paused, "I could cook sometime too."

Shinji smirked. "You could, but I'd rather _not_ have my house burn down."

Hikari giggled, beginning to discern when he was joking and when he was serious.

Just as Hikari was really beginning to feel at home, the doorbell rang.

"Who the heck could that be?" Shinji muttered as he tromped over to the door. He turned the knob and swung it open to reveal Satoshi on the other side.

"Hey, guys! I was wondering if we could-"

SLAM.

Shinji began to make his way back over to the table, but was stopped by Hikari.

"Shinji! That was so rude!" she squealed. She rushed over to the door to find Satoshi still standing there, unaffected.

"It's okay, Hikari, I'm used to it by now," he laughed. Used to it? How many times did Shinji do this on a regular basis?

"So, anyways, I was going to ask you both if you wanted to come with Takeshi and me to the mall! They have that new Poketch application you've really wanted," he coaxed.

New Poketch application? If this was the future, then anything new would put her simple timeline's Poketch line to shame. She eagerly turned around to face Shinji, who in turn frowned sourly and returned with a simple:

"No."

"Pleeeeeeease? I _reeeeeally_ want it!" she whined.

"No."

Hikari returned her attention to Satoshi, who gave her a hopeful look. "We'd be glad to go!"

Shinji raced up behind her and slapped his hand over her mouth. "We're not going anywhere today. Today is our cleaning day, remember?" he scowled.

"Well, yeah, but you had to work yesterday, and I was really hoping that we could all go together!"

Shinji shook his head. "No. We're both staying here."

"Well, maybe next time-"

SLAM.

Shinji released Hikari from his grasp. She wasn't angry; in fact, she had come to half expect something like this from him. They returned to their interrupted meal.

When they had both finished, Hikari stood up to bring her plate to the sink, but Shinji snatched it out of her hand and brought it into the kitchen for her.

"Th…thank you…" she mumbled, surprised. Hikari was starting to realize that Shinji wasn't such a bad guy…once you got used to him. They went to the closet in the hallway and took out cleaning supplies. Hikari grabbed some dusting materials while Shinji chose the vacuum.

They had been cleaning for quite a period of time until Hikari began to reflect on all that was happening to her. First, she was dragged into a strange forest that she had had a foreboding feeling about to begin with. Then she was sent forward in time to where she had to be around 20-25 years old. Now, she wasn't sure what was going to happen next. What if she never got back? What if she was stuck here forever? Shinji was bound to find out something was up sooner or later, if he hadn't already.

Before Hikari had realized it, she had dropped the duster and was crying softly once again. Shinji happened to turn around at that time and noticed her trembling. He turned off the vacuum and raced to her side.

"Now what's wrong?"

Hikari kept sobbing, not wanting to reveal her secret that she had been keeping from him. But, she was positive that he had a right to know. The question now was: who would win in a fight between Hikari's courage and her fear?

"Hello? I just asked you a question. Are you going to answer me, or not?"

"Sh…Shinji…" she said quietly. "…I…I'm not who you think I am."


	5. Chapter 5

Shinji grabbed the neckline of Hikari's shirt and slammed her against the wall. Not hard enough to hurt her, mind you, but enough to warn what was to come.

"_Where is Hikari?_" he growled slowly, as if he was holding back physical violence unless absolutely necessary. Hikari had never seen this menacing look in his eye, not even in her present time. He looked like he would murder her if he had to. She looked down to the ground to her left, avoiding his eyes and the fiery rage that lay behind them.

She couldn't very well lie to him now, but she was also sure that he wouldn't believe the truth.

"I…I am Hikari…" she whispered. He slammed her against the wall again, this time a little harder.

"I'm sorry, maybe I misheard you," he snarled. "I believe I asked you where Hikari was."

"I…I already told you. I am Hikari," she mumbled, a little louder this time.

Hikari flinched, ready to be slammed against the wall a third time, but found Shinji lean in towards her face, forcing her to look him in the eye. "I'm trying to be nice here," he growled softly. _"WHERE. IS. HIKARI?!"_

Hikari was in tears by now, unable to reason with an enraged husband. She opened her eyes and saw Shinji's enraged expression. However, it was not pure rage. It was protective. Hikari realized that he was not angry because she had deceived him; he was angry because his Hikari was missing.

"I _am _Hikari…I'm just not the one you married…" she sobbed.

He loosened his grip on her shirt slightly. "What are you babbling about?" he sneered softly.

Hikari began to tell him all that had happened, sobbing softly in between her sentences. She started all the way back when she left town, and she ended with waking up in "their" bed. Shinji listened intently, showing no signs of emotion or partiality.

When she finished her story, Shinji let go of her sweater completely and turned around, taking a few steps away from her. He stopped, and Hikari fell to the ground. She looked up at Shinji, fearing that he was angry with her.

She slowly stood up and walked around to face him. She found him staring at the ground, fists clenched and tears streaming down his cheeks. As soon as she saw his face, he turned his head the other way and brought his arm up to wipe his face.

He wasn't angry with her; he was upset for his lost wife. For a moment, Hikari was overcome with sympathy. She didn't know the feeling of losing a spouse, but she definitely knew what it felt like to lose all her friends and family all at once.

She stepped toward Shinji and put her arms around him comfortingly. They stood there like that, for just a few moments, merely finding comfort in each other's company.

Suddenly, Shinji pushed Hikari away. "So…why didn't you tell me this before?" he said quietly.

"I…I was worried about how you would react…" she said nervously. "And," she added, "I was sure that you'd be able to tell at some points."

"Like when?"

"Well, when I was crying all the time for 'no reason,' or when I…erm…refused…wouldn't let you…well, you know." She flushed.

Shinji smirked at this. "Why did you think those things would give you away?"

Hikari looked up, surprised. "Why wouldn't they?"

Shinji sighed. Apparently, he had a long story to tell as well.

"The you from this timeline was just _dying_ to have a baby. We tried and tried, but we were getting nowhere. That's when she dragged me to the doctor with her so we could get some embarrassing tests done to find out what the problem was. The test results just came the other day, and I haven't seen them yet. I assumed that you had seen them and they said that we couldn't have a child for one reason or another and it was bugging you."

Hikari was amazed. Not only did Shinji try to have a baby for her, but he also took medical tests in order to find out why they couldn't. Although…the thought of Shinji reproducing and creating more like himself was one quite repulsing to Hikari.

Shinji noticed the disgusted look on Hikari's face, and chuckled. "What's wrong? It's not like _you're_ the one that has to make the baby right now!" He threw back his head and laughed and the hilarity of the idea. Hikari flushed in anger.

Shinji eventually quieted down and became serious again. "Do you know how you're going to get back?"

Hikari shook her head. "No…I'm not even sure how I got here. I was too panicked because I thought I was being attacked by that weird pokemon."

Shinji's head snapped up. "Wait…are you sure you don't know what it was called?"

"No, I'd never seen anything like it. It was just like how I described it to you."

Shinji thought for a moment. He paced the floor, thinking, until he finally came to a conclusion.

"Nijalcon…" he whispered. "Could it be?"

"Hm? What was that you said?"

"N-nothing. Just…I think in order for things to go back to normal, you have to come to that forest again with me."

"WHAT?! Why? I don't wanna have to go in there again…" she shuddered at the thought.

"Trust me. It's our only chance." Shinji held out his hand.

Hikari stared at it for a moment, then hesitantly put her hand in his.

-------------------------------------------------

"Hey! We're out of the forest!"

"…No we're not…why did you even bother to say that?"

"I dunno…I just thought it might cheer you guys up…"

Back in the stone age, Hikari and friends had gotten even more lost than they had been before. Hikari didn't know if it was because Shinji had begun to rub off on her some, but she was starting to get EXTREMELY annoyed with Satoshi. She found herself bickering with him about everything.

They later stopped to rest once again and enjoyed the forest's beauty. Hikari had never liked that forest, however, and still wasn't very partial to it. She sighed and tried to think of her beloved husband. She could almost hear his voice…

"You mean you guys still haven't gotten out of this stupid forest yet?"

Yes, she could just feel his smirk...

"Hey! It's Shinji!"

Hikari whipped around to see the one she had dreamed of standing before her once again. Her eyes lit up with excitement; even just seeing him was enough, even if she couldn't have him at that moment.

"Well, what are you still doing in this forest too, then?" Satoshi asked, annoyed.

"I'm training. I suppose you guys are just lost." He smirked when he saw Satoshi's reaction. "I thought as much." He glanced at Hikari with his cold eyes and sent chills down her spine. He whirled around to trudge back on through the forest. Hikari almost had to physically cover her mouth to keep herself from screaming his name or telling him not to go. With a swish of some bush branches, he was engulfed by the darkness of the forest once again.

Hikari let out a small sigh and went back to remembering. Seeing Shinji like this caused her to remember all the time she had spent fussing about him and his rudeness, to no avail. She would have to tell her Shinji about that when she got…back…

Oh. That's right. She still didn't know how to get home.

_How can I get back when I don't even know how I got here?_ she thought. _Well…I guess it's all up to you then, Shinji…_


	6. Chapter 6

Shinji ran down the street, Hikari in tow, hand in hand. As they ran, Hikari spotted many things she recognized. Buildings, houses, parks, businesses, shops…she had seen them all…somewhere.

It wasn't until they hit the outside of town when she realized that they had been living in _her_ hometown. Had she even gotten Shinji to move to her town…?

"Sh…pant Shinji…pant…can we…stop running now?" she yelled in between breaths. Shinji slowed to a stop and turned to face her.

"Hn. I forgot that you were just a weakling," he smirked.

"Where…are you taking us, anyway?"

"To the Illustrious Forest, where else?" That forest again? Why would he want to go there?

"…Well…why?"

Shinji smacked his forehead. "You idiot, don't you think that the bird you saw in there had anything to do with this?" Hikari nodded. "Then don't you think that you could use that thing to fix it as well?"

Hikari blushed in embarrassment. She looked down and noticed that he still had her hand in his, and flushed even deeper. Shinji laughed.

"So, starting to crush on me already, then?"

Hikari glared at him, but realized it wasn't worth the battle. If she had married him, she would obviously fall in love with him at some point, right?

"L…let's just go," she said, still red as a tamato berry.

Shinji began walking again, this time at a much slower pace. He walked beside her this way, and Hikari began to really feel like they were a couple.

"So…why are you still holding my hand, anyway?" she mumbled.

"Because you always end up getting lost." Hikari pouted.

"I don't get lost _all _the time."

Shinji smirked. "Really? I don't know about you and that idiot Satoshi, but when you started traveling with me, you got lost any time we went anywhere. I would always find you under some tree, crying."

Hikari decided it was best not to talk to him and deal with his rude comments, so they spent the next few moments in silence. Luckily for Hikari, she knew that this forest and town were very close to her own, so she tried to think of other things to get her mind off of the whole situation. She thought of her own time. She thought of her old body, her old pokemon, her mother. Rather than thinking of not knowing where they were, she began to think of how good it would feel to return to them.

Another image flew into Hikari's head. In the midst of thinking of her friends, a purple-haired figure swum into the middle of her thoughts.

"_Stupid girl."_

Hikari looked up at the Shinji beside her, who was watching the road in front of them. She looked forward as well. _Maybe I am starting to crush on him right now, _she thought. No matter what she tried to think of, that purple-haired trainer kept floating back into her memories.

"_Troublesome girl."_

She began to remember all of the times that Shinji had said something like that to her, or told her to be quiet, or any time that they had ever fought. She started to wonder if all of those times…had he been picking on her? He would always smirk whenever he told her something like that, so maybe…

"Shinji?" Hikari said nervously.

"Hm?" he grunted.

"How…how long have…how long ago was it since you fell in love with me?"

Shinji stopped dead in his tracks and looked the opposite direction on Hikari. "Sh…Shinji? Are you okay?"

"For…for a long time…I've been able to stand you for a long time, okay?" His words were muffled. Hikari leaned around him to see that he had his hand over his mouth, as if he was trying to control what he was saying…or maybe even hide something.

She grabbed his arm and pulled it towards her. Shinji, surprised, didn't give very much resistance, but turned his head, still clenched in his hand. She managed to get his hand off of his face, and stared at him, wide eyed.

Shinji was blushing.

Not just a little pink tinge on his cheeks, but a full on blush.

His ears were even red.

Hikari began to laugh. She fell on the ground, hysterical.

"Sh…SHUT UP! I…I'm just not feeling well, okay?! I think I have a fever!"

Hikari laughed even harder at his terrible lie, causing him to blush harder.

"Well, why did you have to ask such a stupid question, anyway?!" he yelled.

"I…I'm sorry," Hikari cried, "I didn't mean to embarrass you…I was just thinking of how you were always picking on me in my timeline…and I wondered if you had a crush on me then…"

Shinji glared at her, blush unfading thanks to his new embarrassment. He didn't want her to see him blush. EVER. Thanks to her stupid question, now she had. He couldn't imagine what the him from the earlier timeline would have to go through NOW.

Hikari laughed so hard she cried. She never imagined that tough old Shinji would fall in love, let alone blush and try to hide it. She quieted down after a few moments and her laughed died down to sniggers.

"Are you quite finished?" Shinji growled, cheeks still tinged with pink.

"Yes…I think so," she giggled.

"Good. Now we're almost there, so just try not to embarra-…annoy me any more until then."

Shinji held out his hand. Hikari took it and pulled herself up. They began walking again. Hikari looked in the distance to find that she could see the city. Only a little longer…

-------------------------------------------------

Hikari was going to strangle Satoshi. He hadn't shut up since they started moving again, and if he didn't stop soon she would be forced to quiet him herself. She didn't know how she could ever stand all this talking. Maybe it was because she had become adjusted to such a quiet, peaceful household. Sure, she and Shinji bickered, but she was usually the loud one, and she had gotten better about that anyway. Shinji was definitely rubbing off on her.

She snickered, thinking back to times that he had tried to stay cool and composed…and failed miserably. It was quite easy to stay slick when you didn't LIVE with the person. She laughed, thinking of the many times he had blushed and tried to hide it by covering his face or making up excuses. Luckily, Satoshi was telling some stupid joke, so no one paid any mind to her laughter.

They continued walking, still completely lost in the forest. Hikari was growing weary thinking of the…"past," and was contemplating on whether to verbally tell Satoshi to shut up or physically do it herself.

Suddenly, they heard a strange noise in the distance; probably half a mile away. Hikari remembered that noise from her youth. In her timeline, she had never gotten to see the silly creature because Satoshi was never able to find it. However, she was able to tell that they had from Satoshi's cry of:

"Hey, it's that pokemon again! I'm gonna catch it this time for sure!"

Satoshi began sprinting towards the noise again, leaving Takeshi and Hikari behind. Takeshi sighed for the millionth time that day and ran on as well.

"Wait up, Satoshi!"

Hikari thought she was going to cry. Not only would they have to be in this stupid forest even longer, but they were going to face the pokemon that she found frightening. Nevertheless, she started to run after them.

"Guys!! Don't leave me behind!"


	7. Chapter 7

"Ugh…" Hikari groaned as she sat up. She looked around. She was still in the forest, but she had her old body back. She must have been sent back in time!

"Did you get hurt?" someone growled beside her. She looked down to find Shinji lying beside her. Not the Shinji of this time, the Shinji of the future.

"Wait…I'm confused…who got transported? If you were in my timeline, you would be in your past self's body…right?" Hikari asked, confused.

"Am I not?" he asked, seeing her in her ten-year-old body. He looked down at himself to find that he was indeed still in his older self. "What…what the heck is going on here…?"

They heard more groans and people stirring nearby. They looked up to find the future Hikari and the present time Takeshi and Satoshi.

"What the hfil? Now I'm really confused." Shinji rubbed his forehead.

"Hm? Shinji…? Is that you?" future Hikari said, astonished (for your benefit, I will be referring to the past Hikari as Hikari A, and the future Hikari as Hikari B). "It…it is…"

She jumped up and ran over to him. He stood up as well and she leapt into his arms, sobbing.

"What's the matter with you? We were only apart for a day or two…" he mumbled.

Satoshi looked on in awe. "…Hikari…and…Shinji?" He rubbed his eyes.

"I never thought I'd see the day…" muttered Takeshi.

It wouldn't have been so bad if it was just Satoshi and Takeshi that saw what was happening. But unluckily for them…the Shinji of the past walked into the clearing.

His eyes met Hikari A's before he looked near her to see the little scene that their future beings were causing. He turned on his heel and went in the complete opposite direction, back through the trees. Hikari A was horrified.

"Would you guys knock it off already? You're embarrassing me!" she cried disdainfully.

By now they had began kissing and Shinji stopped and snapped his eyes open, as did Hikari B. They looked around them a bit and saw their audience, then broke apart again. Silence.

"So anyways…" Hikari B said quickly, "does anyone have any clue what's going on?"

Silence.

Shinji sighed and decided to take the lead on this one. "That pokemon is called Nijalcon," he mumbled. "It's extremely rare, there's only one in the entire world. However, it seems as if it's immortal. Some say that's because it can control time and how things are arranged in it, so it can "place" itself wherever in time it feels necessary. It must have used its special ability to switch the Hikari of my timeline with the one of yours."

Takeshi seemed as if he understood, but the two Hikaris and Satoshi stared at him with blank faces. Shinji swore under his breath and continued to explain.

"You guys know about Manapy's Heart Swap, right?" he said bluntly. They nodded. "And you also know of Celebi's time travel ability, right?" They nodded again. "Well…it's sort of like a combination of both."

"How come you know all this, huh, 'Shinji'?" Satoshi asked suspiciously.

"Because I did my research. The whole reason I ever went in this stupid forest was so that I could try to catch the stupid thing." By how he snapped this at Satoshi, Hikari A guessed that he never did catch it. Who could blame him?

"But…I still don't understand! Why is everything all mixed together now?" Hikari B gestured at the things in the forest that were doubled: trees, rocks, pokemon, etc.

"I don't know. I think that Nijalcon has woven our two timelines together in its confusion."

"So…how are we going to get everything back to normal."

"Hmph. Don't ask me. It has some kind of counter ability that will reverse this effect, but I don't remember what it was," he snapped.

They heard another rustling in the bushes and saw Shinji step out once again (for your benefit, the corresponding Shinjis will be labeled as the Hikaris are).

"Hey! Shinji! What are you doing here again? Spying on us?" Satoshi yelled, standing up.

Shinji A scowled. "I hid in the trees and listened to your conversation. I figured it had something to do with Nijalcon, so I stayed to listen and see if anyone had a clue what was really happening." He smirked. "It seems, though, that the only one who has any clue is me, though." He gestured toward Shinji B.

Shinji B smirked as well. "So then, are you going to tell us what its counter ability is, and how we can trigger it?"

"No."

"Shinji!" both Hikaris yelled.

Shinji A smirked again. "No way. This is too much fun for me." He turned around to go back into the trees. Shinji B swooped over and grabbed the smaller version of himself by the collar of his jacket.

"You are aware of what will happen if time is interwoven, right?" he said, a dark look in his eyes.

"No. Why, do you have some idea?" Shinji A snarled at himself (**A/N:** LOL 8D).

Shinji B smirked. "Man, I was sure an idiot back then."

Shinji A scowled deeper, more threatening. "What will happen?" he sighed.

"Time will elapse. Everything will all tie together and everything will turn into nothing. By combining two different timelines like this, the universe is now off balance. If we don't do something soon, then you're not going to exist any more. Nothing will."

Shinji A looked at the ground, defeated, but unwilling to admit it. Shinji B released him and Shinji A began turned around.

"I'll tell you if we see it again." Hikari B began to worry. She knew that he was going to travel with them because he wanted to make sure that he found that thing again, and with their dumb luck, they were sure to.

Shinji B smirked. "Sure you're not just withholding the information so that you can travel with _Hikari_?" he emphasized the name Hikari, silently stating that he said it without fear.

"Who the heck is that?"

Before Hikari A could react, Hikari B put her hand in front of Hikari A and shook her head.

Shinji B had looked so amused that Hikari A wasn't sure why he wasn't laughing. He chuckled. "That would be the girl standing behind me that you pick on every time that you see her."

"Are you implying something?" Shinji A asked, whirling around.

"Why don't you prove that I'm wrong?"

He smirked. "How would I go about that?"

"Say her name."

"What? Why?"

"Because you've probably never said it before. If you were to say it now…we would just be able to tell," Shinji B snickered. This would probably ruin his reputation if it worked, but it was worth the entertainment.

"…I don't even know her stupid name!" Shinji A shouted.

"I've already told you; it's _Hikari_."

"…" Shinji A turned back around to face the other way. "This is stupid!"

Hikari A, moving from her past experience with Shinji B, ran up behind him and spun him around to face everyone. His face was beet red.

Satoshi busted out laughing. He couldn't believe that his most serious rival was blushing!

"J-just leave me alone!" he snarled, turning back around. He stormed over behind a nearby tree and sat down, making sure to face the _opposite_ direction of the clearing.

"Well…I suppose that we should get going…if we want to find that bird," Satoshi said, still snickering. "Come on, Shinji!"

Shinji glowered at the idea of going with those idiots, but it wasn't like he had a choice…


	8. Chapter 8

"But why can't we let those two sleep in Hikari's tent? They're husband and wife, and they've been separated for a long time! Shouldn't they get to spend more time together?"

"Erm, Satoshi, that wouldn't be a good idea…" Hikari A shook her hands in front of her, blushing furiously.

"Why not?"

"Just…because, okay?" Hikari A was positive that she didn't want to be the one to give this boy "the talk." Didn't his mother tell him anything before he left…?

"Don't worry about it. We wouldn't do anything in your precious tent," Shinji B stated. "…No matter how tempting it may be…" he added quietly, smirking.

Shinji A's quick ears picked this up, but he said nothing. He just stood there with a disgusted look on his face.

"Hey! Shinji, it looks like you know! Will you tell me?" Satoshi gave him a pleading look.

Shinji looked at him with a blank expression, then smirked. "Yeah, sure. Let me ask you something; do you know where babies come from?"

At the sound of this, Hikari A leapt over to Shinji and forced her hands over his mouth. "You idiot, you can't tell him something like that!" she said under her breath.

Shinji wrenched her hands off of his face. "And why not? This kid is at least 15 years old by now and should know about it already."

"Yeah…but…still!"

Shinji sighed and fell silent again. He crossed his arms in defeat and went back to sulking underneath his tree. Hikari A stood next to him.

"And…why are you still here?" he said, annoyed.

"I'm trying to make sure you stay in line!" Hikari A replied.

Shinji grunted in irritation and ignored her.

They all finally agreed to let them stay in Hikari A's tent, just as long as nothing went on. Satoshi, of course, was still in the dark about that, but no one had the heart to tell him. Or in Hikari A's case, _let_ anyone tell him.

Hikari B climbed into her old tent and sat down on one side, while Shinji B climbed in after her and sat on the other. They were quiet for a while, neither quite knowing what to say. Finally, Hikari spoke up.

"Shinji…I, um…" she stammered.

"What is it? Out with it already."

"Well…it's just…why haven't you asked me about those tests yet?!"

"Eh?"

"Just…don't you care?" She looked over at him with pleading eyes.

Shinji sighed and rubbed his forehead. Why did this woman have to cause him so much stress?

"I didn't want to ask you because I thought that maybe you didn't want to tell me. I was afraid that if I asked you, you would start yelling at me or something."

Shinji looked up and saw that Hikari had tears in her eyes. "Hey, what's wrong? You see, this is why I didn't want to ask you anything!"

Hikari looked up at him and smiled. She leaned over and hugged him so that she was close to his ear.

"…I'm pregnant," she whispered. "Sorry, I'm probably going to get a little emotional now."

Shinji's eyes widened. "What? How…I thought that it wasn't working!"

"Apparently it's only been a month. Since I went to the doctor, they were able to detect it easier than with a home pregnancy test. Oh, Shinji, you're going to have a little son or daughter!"

Shinji said nothing, and Hikari knew this meant that he was happy. Or maybe it was because he hugged her tighter. Either way, Hikari was overjoyed.

Suddenly, they heard the tent rustle and looked over to see Shinji A opening the flap with two bowls. "Heh. Thought we agreed that there wasn't supposed to be anything going on," he smirked.

Shinji B smirked as well. "Who said that we were doing anything? Don't come in assuming things, stupid."

Shinji B found picking on his younger self even more entertaining than picking on Hikari.

Shinji A made no reply, but left the two bowls of stew and spoons in the tent before exiting. Hikari eagerly broke away from Shinji and began to dig in. Shinji grabbed his bowl as well, glad that the tension between them had been broken.

-------------------------------------------------

Outside the tent, Hikari A and Shinji A were busy doing quite the opposite. They were bickering like there was no tomorrow.

"Shinji! Stop being so mean! I don't have crush on you!"

"You must, or will someday; you saw how the two of us act in the future."

"…So?! That doesn't mean anything for us necessarily right now!"

"Hmph. I certainly wouldn't fall in love with you, but yet the two of us end up married. So that means it must have been you."

"Shinji! People only get married if they love _each other_! It doesn't work with just one person like that!"

Shinji smirked. He just loved messing with her.

Hikari wanted to strangle Shinji.

Satoshi looked at the two of them fighting with disbelief. He couldn't believe that those two, of all people, would ever get married.

Takeshi just wanted both of them to stop being so noisy and immature.

After their little squabble, Satoshi and Takeshi began to set up a fire and pull out sleeping bags. Hikari got up to go to her sleeping bag and purposefully walked past Shinji.

"By the way, the older Shinji told me everything," she whispered.

Shinji's head snapped up. Would he really do something like that to himself…?

Yes, he probably would, the more he thought about it.

But, if he had told her, then there was really nothing that he could do about it.

"Hey guys! I'm gonna go get some more firewood! I'll be right back, okay?" Satoshi called as he ran into the woods with Pikachu.

"Hey, Satoshi! You might need this compass in case you get lost!" Takeshi ran into the trees after him.

Hikari and Shinji were now alone outside the tent.

_Perfect_.

Shinji strolled up behind Hikari casually, then tapped her on the shoulder. She whipped around to find Shinji's lips meet hers.


	9. Chapter 9

Hikari stood perfectly still, completely shocked, even after Shinji broke away from her.

"Sh…SHINJI?! But…what happened to, 'I would never fall in love with someone like you'?"

Shinji smirked. MAN, he REALLY loved picking on this girl. He said nothing, but walked back over to where he had been sitting near the fire. Silence would be best for now to attain maximum confusion.

Hikari stared at Shinji, mouth agape. She was mostly bluffing; Shinji B had never really told her EXACTLY when he fell in love with her, he had just choked out that it was a long time ago. Could he really have fallen in love with her that far back…?

Well, if it was true, then at least she would have something to blackmail him with if need be.

But in any case, Hikari had to know. She cautiously sat down next to Shinji in front of the small fire and looked up at him. She watched the light from the flames dance on his hair and eyes, and suddenly his eyes darted over to her.

"Something you need, troublesome girl?" he growled.

"Well…I was just looking at your hair, I guess," she said. Maybe she could get him to say it…

Shinji raised his eyebrow. "Why?"

"I don't know…it's just…perfect. I mean, however you mess it up, it always goes back to normal," she said, reaching up to ruffle his hair.

Shinji suddenly pushed her hand away turned his head in the opposite direction, in order to see that she couldn't see his face.

Hikari smirked. Now it was HER turn to pick on someone.

She leaned over and hugged Shinji around the waist. He was so taken aback that his head whipped around, revealing a pink tinge on his cheeks slowly growing redder.

Hikari did everything that she could to hold back her laughter. If this was going to work, she had to keep at it.

"W-what are you doing n-now? Annoying girl," he stammered. She made no reply, but kept her arms wrapped tightly around him. "If you're trying to get me to tell you that I love you, it's not going to happen."

"You don't have to say anything; I already know," she whispered. Shinji peeled her arms off of him, much to Hikari's surprise. She looked up into his eyes. He had the same warmth hidden behind the cold that the future Shinji did, but this one quickly hid it.

She smiled warmly. She was now certain that he did indeed love her. Suddenly, Shinji grabbed her hands and pulled her closer. He leaned in near her ear and whispered:

"Why didn't you wear longer skirts? Stupid girl."

"What are you guys doing?"

Shinji released Hikari's hands and flew back in a split second. Hikari looked up to find Takeshi and Satoshi had returned with more wood. Satoshi was standing before them, looking like he was going to throw up. Takeshi, on the other hand, was smiling with amusement.

"Whispering sweet nothings in each other's ears?"

Shinji scowled at first, and then came up with a brilliant plan. "Maybe we were just talking about cruddy trainers. Did you happen to sneeze while you were gone?" He smirked and looked at Satoshi.

"What?! I'm not a cruddy trainer! I'm gonna be a pokemon master!" Satoshi continued on with his one-sided battle for a time, distracting everyone from their moment exposed.

Hikari was grateful for that; she certainly didn't want to handle the humiliation of being caught like that with _Shinji_ of all people. "Thank you, Shinji," she whispered so that only he could hear. He grunted as his way of saying, "You're welcome."

After Satoshi finally quieted down, Hikari and Shinji B came out of the tent to return their dishes and sit by the fire with the others. They all chatted about anything that came to mind, momentarily forgetting about the dilemma around them.

"So what am I like in the future?" Satoshi asked excitedly.

"Well…um…pretty much the same…" Hikari B said, scratching her head.

Satoshi's face fell.

"What about me? What's my future like?" Takeshi asked in a much more calm manner.

"I'm not really sure; after we left to live in my hometown, you went back to Pewter City to see your family. You must have decided to stay, because we haven't seen you since."

"Do I ever get married?!" Takeshi said, stars dancing in his eyes.

"No, I don't think so."

Takeshi fell in a slump.

"Hey, wait, do I get married?" Satoshi asked curiously. "And where do I live?"

"You live in my hometown near Shinji and I, and yes, you do get married. She's that one girl…oh, what was her name? Kasami or something?"

"WHAT?! I get married to KASUMI?" Satoshi shouted, blushing furiously.

"Arceus knows why," Shinji B mumbled.

Satoshi shot him a quick glare before going back to his little questionnaire.

"So wait, why am I living in your hometown, Hikari?"

"Um…I'm not really sure. I think it has something to do with Shinji." She looked over at her husband who was trying to ignore all of them.

"Hmph. I'm not really sure myself. When we told you where we were moving, you just yelled something about not losing to me and then later we found out that you moved down the street from us."

Everyone sweatdropped; they had come to expect something like this from Satoshi. It was quiet for a few moments before they heard Nijalcon's call off in the distance once again.

"He's close," Shinji B murmured. Everyone shuddered at the thought of having to face the bird again but Shinji A. Hikari looked at him worriedly. Was he really going to try and catch it…?

"Well, no sense in worrying about it now. We'll get to it in the morning. Right now we need to rest," he said nonchalantly. Everyone agreed.

Hikari and Shinji B climbed back into the tent while everyone else crawled into sleeping bags. Takeshi had "conveniently" placed Hikari and Shinji A's next to each other. Hikari, exhausted from the entire ordeal, couldn't have cared less, and slipped into her sleeping bag anyway.


	10. Chapter 10

Hikari batted her eyes open to find Shinji's sleeping bag empty. Worried, she got up to find him. She stepped out of the clearing quietly so as not to wake up her other two companions, and tromped through the trees to find the missing member of their party.

"Pssst, hey, Shinji, I think she's gone!" Hikari B whispered to her patiently waiting husband.

"Hn. About time," he murmured.

"And to think! She got him to practically admit it to her this early! I wonder if you had anything to do with that…" she gave him a thoughtful look.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, come on! You have to admit, you treat me much more nicely than you did back then."

"Really? Well then, I suppose I'll have to fix that." He slipped his arm around her back and began kissing her. His lips made their way down her neck before Hikari lightly pushed him away.

"You call that being less nice?" she laughed.

He smirked. "I'm breaking my promise to the past you," he chuckled.

"Well, I'm here, so I won't let you." Hikari gave a quick laugh before going back to lying down in her sleeping bag. Shinji lied down next to her, slipping his arm around her small waist. It didn't stay there, however. It crept upward to her mid-stomach, then to the bottom of her ribcage, then…

"Shinji!" she squealed. "You promised!"

Shinji laughed quietly to himself; he loved seeing her flustered like this. His hand came back down to her stomach and sleep came upon the tent.

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"Shinji! SHINJIII!" Hikari yelled as she ran through the thick trees, tripping over roots and bushes. She happened to trip over a particularly large tree root and came crashing to the ground. She looked down at her knee to find that it had been scraped on the offending bark and was slowly oozing blood.

"Sh…Shinji!" She gave another quick yell before a small tear fell from her eye. She had just realized that she had gotten herself lost once again, and now she was hurt and alone. She began to sob quietly. How did she always get herself caught in these situations…?

"What are you crying about now?"

Hikari's head shot up to find Shinji standing before her, Elekid at his feet. "Shinji! I…I saw that your sleeping bag was empty, then I had to go find you, then I tripped over this tree root, and then I scraped my knee, and now I think I'm lost…" Hikari gave another soft sob.

"Would you shut up already? Noisy girl." Shinji got into his backpack and brought out a small first-aid kit. He grabbed a small spray bottle and band-aid out of it and walked over to Hikari, kneeling down in front of her. "Now hold still."

He sprayed the medicine on her knee, but it stung a little and Hikari jerked. "Stupid girl! I told you to stay still!" he shouted. He grabbed a hold of her knee and gave it another quick spray. He capped the tiny bottle and took the band-aid, peeling off the wrapper.

_I guess…it's just like future Shinji said,_ thought Hikari. _Whenever I would get lost, he would come and find me…he's even dressing my…"wound."_

"There. All done." Shinji sat up to find Hikari's eyes full of tears again. "What? What's wrong now? Does it really hurt that much-"

"Oh Shinji!" Hikari cried before collapsing into his arms, sobbing again.

"Ack! What the heck is WRONG with you?" he snapped, trying to pry the girl off of him.

"Thank you, Shinji…just…thank you…" she whispered. His anger cooled at her soft words and he awkwardly put his hand on her back.

Hikari's sobbing slowed, and eventually halted. "There, are you finished now?"

Hikari nodded, wiping tears from her eyes. "Good." Shinji stood up and held out his hand for her to take. She stared at it as if it were some foreign object she had never seen before. "Well, hurry up! I haven't got all day!" he snapped. Hikari quickly took the offering hand and hoisted herself up as well. However, she lost her balance and once again found herself lying in Shinji's arms.

"Geez, can't you even walk right?!"

"S-sorry!" Hikari stood back up and Shinji grabbed her hand once again. Hikari looked at his hand wrapped around hers, blushing. Shinji looked at her face and smirked.

"What? It's just so you don't get lost again, stupid girl." Hikari jerked her head back up, embarrassed that something as trivial as him holding her hand could make her react this way.

He commenced walking once again, practically dragging her along. "Sh-Shinji! Don't you think we could slow down just a little?!" she cried.

"Slowpoke, haven't you ever walked before?" Hikari had never walked this fast before; she had to practically jog to keep up with him. With her usual traveling buddies, she would usually walk a light stroll, never this burning pace Shinji kept up.

Hikari's legs grew weaker and the strain of Shinji's hand grasping hers grew too great. "Ow! Shinji, you're hurting my hand!" she whined. His grip didn't loosen, nor did is pace slow. Hikari found herself stumbling on through the forest behind Shinji, tripping over anything, even the underbrush. It was bound to happen…

Hikari tripped over a small rock and fell to the ground once again. Shinji stopped immediately and whirled around. "Walk much?" he smirked. Hikari had had just about enough from him by now. Enraged, she sprung up and leapt onto him, hand grasping his collar, other hand in a fist raised above his face.

And then, just as quickly, she froze.

What was she doing? She had learned by now that these things she did were merely to tease her; no harm was meant. She slowly lowered her fist and loosened her grip on his jacket.

Suddenly, Hikari felt a pair of hands on hers and she was swiftly rolled onto her back. She opened her eyes and looked up to her reflection in a pair of pure black eyes.

The tables had turned. Shinji now loomed over Hikari, sitting on her hips with his legs on either side, and Hikari was lying on the ground looking up at him. Hikari looked up at him, helpless.

Shinji smirked mischievously. "So, now what are you going to do?"

"Erm…that depends."

"Hn." His smirk grew darker. "Upon what?"

"What you're planning on doing."

"Don't worry; I won't do anything nasty for now. I mean, we haven't even hit puberty yet."

"Sh-SHINJI!" His smirk still firmly in place, he leaned down and touched her lips softly with his. It was a pleasant feeling, nothing like the married (and sexually active) Shinji had done. She took a moment to savor him: his smell, his touch, his gentleness. For such a cold-hearted person, Shinji could sometimes be very sweet.

But, unfortunately, their calm moment was soon to be interrupted. They heard a loud noise; it was only a few feet away from their location.

"**GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAW**!"

Shinji's head snapped up, ending the pleasant feeling Hikari had been enjoying. He leapt up and rushed through the trees. Hikari quickly followed, not wanting to be left alone once again. She raced after Shinji, ignoring the sharp pains in her legs from straining the muscles so quickly.

Hikari burst through another row of trees to find a large clearing (probably a duplicate of the one she had been dropped into), containing a large source of light.

"Nijalcon…" Shinji whispered.


	11. Chapter 11

"Elekid! Standby!" Shinji shouted, directing his almost forgotten pokemon to attack. Elekid quickly wobbled out in front of Shinji, still in shock at seeing his trainer in such a state with that girl.

"Shinji! What are you doing?!" Hikari screamed.

He gave her a quick glare before going back to his battle. "Brick break!"

Elekid used its powerful attack, but a lightning-like barrier quickly surrounded the large bird, keeping its opponent at bay. Elekid fell to the ground, KO'ed.

"Ack, stupid!" Shinji returned his pokemon without sympathy before releasing Torterra. "Use earthquake!"

A loud rumbling erupted from the ground, and soon the entire clearing was shaking. Hikari, with her weak legs, fell once again.

However, Nijalcon took flight and was unaffected by the tremendous attack. It began to form an enormous hyper beam. If that beam was to hit Torterra, the whole clearing would be destroyed. Hikari looked up in horror at her doom, and Shinji swore under his breath.

"Electivire! Reflect!"

Shinji lifted his head just in time to see a huge Electivire leap in front of his Torterra and create a large force field around the entire clearing. The hyper beam was reflected back at the provider, but absorbed by the strange force field just in time.

Hikari whipped her head around to find Shinji B standing slightly behind them, mysteriously shrouded behind the trees. He stepped out and looked down at Hikari.

"Shinji? But…how did you…"

"Empoleon, spotlight!" With a flash of light, a large Empoleon was released into the outside world as well. "Well now, we couldn't leave you guys to this by yourselves, now could we?" Hikari B winked.

"But…how did you know that we were here?"

Hikari B smiled. "We heard your shrieks and figured that there was something wrong. Then we heard Nijalcon's call and knew that we had to do something."

"Get out of here! I can handle this!" Shinji A snarled over to the pair.

"No, you can't. You're still a complete weakling. Get over yourself and realize that already! I'm not even sure _I_ can beat this stupid thing!" Shinji B snapped back.

Hikari had begun to realize something at that moment. Although Shinji still looked down on others and considered them "useless," he had lost a lot of pride in these years he had apparently spent with her.

Shinji A looked like he was ready to strangle his future self, but, turning around and looking at the large and powerful Electivire in front of him, he decided that it would be best to let the older and wiser ones handle it.

He brought out his Pokeball, ready to return his Torterra, but Hikari B quickly stopped him.

"Wait! We didn't say we wouldn't need your help!" She smiled, releasing all of her other pokemon.

Shinji A scowled and reluctantly released his other pokemon as well, except for Elekid of course. Hikari A stood up and followed suit, as did Shinji B. Satoshi and Takeshi quickly caught up and joined them. Soon, they had a small army of pokemon ready to do battle.

"Alright, now how do you fix things?!" Shinji B screamed as they all commanded their pokemon to attack. However, no matter what they did, they couldn't seem to land a hit on the mysterious fowl.

Shinji A looked over at the Hikari of his timeline, who gave him a worried expression. Hikari B stood behind her with the same face.

"It…it's stupid…" he muttered, looking back up at the failed attacks.

"Shinji…what is it?" Hikari A said softly, moving closer to him to make sure that she could hear him. "Please, I really don't understand exactly what will happen if we don't fix the time stream, but I do know that it'll be bad. Please, Shinji!"

He shifted his gaze into her deep blue eyes which were shining, threatening to release tears once again. He looked around at the forest. Things were already starting to jumble; trees looked almost glitchy, things were starting to duplicate randomly as time wove into itself, and he even thought he saw an older Satoshi wandering through the forest. Shinji A sighed deeply.

Without warning, he grabbed Hikari A's hand and stormed out in front of the group, between them and the pokemon still fighting desperately.

"Shinji, what the heck are you doing?!" they shouted.

Shinji groaned; this would probably be the most humiliating thing he had ever done in his entire life.

Shinji B suddenly smirked; apparently he had finally remembered what the trick was to get Nijalcon to cancel its special ability.

Shinji A looked over at Hikari A once again, seeing the confused and anxious look on her face. "Sh…Shinji…what's going on? I don't understand…" GOSH he hated how he thought she was cute.

He turned his head back to the others one last time and gave a loud cry:

"I LOVE HIKARI!"

He turned back to the girl beside him and took her lips once again.


	12. Chapter 12

The entire group minus Shinji B looked on in alarm at the strange scene before them. Shinji had just confessed his love for Hikari—PUBLICLY—and was now kissing her in front of everyone. Even the pokemon had stopped attacking to watch the rare sight before them. A couple of Shinji A's pokemon had even fainted from shock.

Shinji's lips slowly separated from Hikari's, and she would have fainted and fallen to the ground as well if it wasn't for Shinji's strong arms holding her up.

"What…WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?!" Satoshi shouted, blushing madly. "SHINJI?! In LOVE?!!"

Shinji B whacked him on the back of the head. Satoshi turned around to find him pointing upwards, toward where they had last seen Nijalcon in the sky. The pokemon seemed…different, somehow. It was no longer glaring down on the small party with its piercing gold eyes, but its eyes had turned soft blue, and it was slowly emitting a glow around itself of the same color. It gave a smooth note rather than its usual squawk.

Suddenly, the whole forest was enveloped in blue. Hikari and Shinji B floated above the ground, glowing blue themselves.

"_Well, erm, goodbye everyone! See you in the future!_"Hikari B giggled before beginning to fade away into soft sparkles.

"_I'll let you explain it to them, I guess_," Shinji B smirked before dissipating as well.

The forest's many duplicates and "glitch blocks" also disappeared. Soon the entire forest was back to the way it should be. The blue soon faded away too, and Nijalcon slowly descended onto the ground. It turned to look at Shinji and gave what looked like a small bow. Shinji bowed as well before the bird became engulfed in red and disappearing, obviously running to another timeline.

Satoshi fell to the ground. "What…w-what the h-heck…w-what was that?" he stammered quietly.

"It…it was how you cancel out its ability…" Shinji mumbled, turning away.

"By what?! By kissing some girl?!"

Shinji scowled. "No, you have to change time. Each timeline may be slightly different, but they still follow the same basic path. I would have NEVER said I loved that stupid girl, and neither would I have kissed her, especially not in front of you idiots."

Satoshi, recollecting himself, gave a playful smile. "Really? Maybe not in front of us…"

"What the heck are you talking about?!" Shinji snarled, cheeks slowly becoming slightly pinker.

"I think you know what I mean…Mr. 'Don't worry, I won't do anything nasty…'"

"Satoshi, you need to shut up before he finds out…" Takeshi whispered quickly.

"'Finds out'? Finds out what exactly?" Shinji took a step toward them.

"Ah, look at the time, it seems as though we have to go!" Satoshi sprung up and ran back to their camp. Shinji shifted his deep glare to Takeshi, who also ran off.

"Hey! Wait for me, Satoshi!"

Shinji smirked, glad that he could instill fear into other's hearts just as he had before. He then turned around and looked at Hikari, who was still pink from the event earlier.

"So then, where were we?" he smirked again, bringing Hikari into his arms and kissing her again.

Hikari softly pushed him away, however. "Shinji…did you mean what you said?" she asked softly.

"What the heck are you talking about?"

"Like how you said you loved me…I mean, that little trick wouldn't work if it was a lie, would it?" Dang, this girl was smarter than she looked.

"…What do you know? You had no clue about Nijalcon before I said anything, so who says you know anything now?" Hikari grinned and broke away from Shinji.

"Well, until you give me a definite answer, you're not even touching these lips again." She turned around and began to waltz away teasingly.

Shinji swore under his breath once again and stepped back in front of her, blocking her path.

"…Umhmhm," he mumbled quietly.

"What?"

"…Uh hv you," he said, a little louder this time.

"Shinji, I can't understand you!"

"I SAID, I lo-…like you."

"Hm…for some reason, I don't think that's it." Hikari grinned widely and went to walk around him, but he stuck his arm out in her way. He leaned in close to her ear. She could feel his hot breath on her skin through her hair.

"…I said that I love you…" he mumbled quietly, barely audible. Hikari couldn't believe her ears.

She threw her arms around him and stood in his embrace. "That's what I thought you said," she whispered.

"Then why did you make me say it?!" he snapped.

Hikari laughed and held onto Shinji tighter.


	13. Epilogue

A/N: This is supposed to be _their_ timeline's future, not the one Hikari was sent to.

------------------------------

"Shinji! I'm home!" a blue-haired woman yelled as she stepped into her small house. No reply. "…Shinji?"

"You called?" Hikari found herself swept into a taller, purple-haired man's arms. He began kissing her neck softly, stroking her hair.

"Ack, Shinji! I still need…to…to put…the groceries away…" she murmured, finding it harder and harder to resist by the second.

He stopped for a second. "Is there anything that will spoil?"

"Well, no, but…" He slipped his lips over hers and began kissing her passionately. After a moment or two, he stopped abruptly and looked her deep in the eyes.

"Still want to put the-"

"No."

Hikari leapt into Shinji's arms, and he began to carry her bridal-style to their bedroom when the doorbell rang. Shinji swore loudly, knowing that she wouldn't agree to leaving their visitors at the door for something like this. She hopped to the ground and rushed over to the door. Shinji grumpily plopped down at the table.

"Oh, hi, Satoshi!" she said cheerfully, as if she had completely forgotten about the moments passed. She invited him inside for tea, and he sat down at the table.

He glanced over at Shinji and smiled brightly, only to receive a "you ruined my chance for sex" death glare. He quickly looked straight ahead, almost ready to get up and leave again.

Hikari came and sat down shortly, waiting for the water to boil in the teapot. "So, what brings you here?"

Satoshi gave another glance at Shinji and decided to take this as quickly as possible to leave them alone again. "Well, I was just in the Illustrious Forest again, when I heard Nijalcon's call, and then I remembered all that happened to us all those years ago…"

"So wait a second. You came here just to take a walk down memory lane?!" Shinji snapped.

"Well…I guess so…"

Shinji swiftly got Satoshi up and started to shoo him out of the house. He opened the door and Satoshi quickly found himself standing on the other side of it. Before he had time to retaliate or reason with him…

SLAM.

"Shinji! That was-" Hikari once again found herself interrupted by Shinji's quick-moving lips.

They separated and Shinji smirked at his wife. "Oh no. You are NOT getting away that easily." He began kissing her again possessively. Hikari almost felt bad about letting the one person Shinji hated most ruin their moment together, but…

It was just too much fun to pick on him.


End file.
